Category Spencer Irwin

Aug 7 2013

X-Men 3

x-men 3

Today, Shelby and Spencer are discussing X-Men 3, originally released July 31st, 2013.

Shelby: I hate a story that drags on too long. As a creator, it’s important to be able to edit yourself; you have to know where you want a story to go and be able to recognize when it gets there. At the same time, it’s just as frustrating as a reader when the story feels rushed. If I’ve settled in to savor a story as it unfolds, a sudden, “…andthenthegoodguyswinordidtheytheend,” is incredibly unsatisfying. A full-stop, wrap-it-up conclusion to a story arc just leaves me feeling confused, like maybe I missed an issue or something. As excited as I have been for Brian Wood’s X-Men, the end of the first arc has me feeling just that: confused and unsatisfied.
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Aug 6 2013

The Flash Annual 2

flash annual 2Today, Spencer and Mikyzptlk are discussing the Flash Annual 2, originally released July 31st, 2013.

Spencer: Way back at the beginning of the New 52 initiative, Justice League turned the clock back five years to show us how DC’s most iconic heroes first met. Yet, even at this early stage, two of these heroes had already met and formed one of DC’s most enduring friendships: The Flash and the Green Lantern. Now, nearly two years later, The Flash Annual 2 has arrived to finally show us their momentous first team-up. It may not be a necessary story or even the most original one, but thanks to Barry Allen and Hal Jordan’s infectiously fun relationship, it’s well worth reading.

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Aug 2 2013

The Wake 3

wake 3

Today, Shelby and Spencer are discussing The Wake 3, originally released July 31st, 2013.

Shelby:  For me, Scott Snyder’s The Wake has been an exercise in scope. Considering our story seemingly encompasses all the oceans, large portions of space, and a span of time stretching over billions of years, it’s pretty safe to say that scope could be classified as “broad.” Just when it seems to be too much to take in, artist Sean Murphy steps in to remind us of the intimate character moments Snyder has sneaked in to this story. For every flashback 3.8 billion years in the past, there’s a quiet moment of a man hallucinating his coworker just tore his arm off and is eating it. Gotta love those intimate moments.
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Jul 31 2013

The Flash 22

flash 22

Today, Scott and Spencer are discussing The Flash 22, originally released July 24th, 2013.

Scott: I imagine being the fastest man on Earth could be pretty frustrating at times. It has its obvious advantages — you’re never late for work, no car insurance, no travel expenses, etc. — but there’s one major annoyance: the rest of the world isn’t moving at your pace. This would be doubly frustrating for a police officer trying to solve a complex murder mystery, which takes a long time to piece together regardless of how fast your body moves. This is the predicament Barry Allen has found himself in over the past several issues of The Flash, and co-writers/artists Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato seem to enjoy taking the slow road with a fast character. The Flash 22 finds them leading Barry to the killer he’s been looking for, but still withholding crucial information about his identity. It’s a spectacular looking issue, and one that feels more focused than this title has in a few months.

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Jul 22 2013

Batman and Catwoman 22

batman and catwoman 22

Today, Spencer and Mikyzptlk are discussing Batman and Catwoman 22, originally released July 17th, 2013.

Spencer: I’m probably in the minority among the Retcon Punch writers, but I’m actually a huge fan of Catwoman. When written properly she’s an unpredictable, fun character, but I’m particularly fond of her team-ups with Batman. Catwoman’s been a lot of things to Batman in the past: a villain, a temptation, an ally, and even a love interest, and each version brings out a new aspect of Batman’s personality. When you throw these two characters together you can never be quite sure how they’ll react, and their team-up in Batman and Catwoman 22 doesn’t disappoint; Selina even manages to make Batman smile.

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Jul 19 2013

Justice League of America 6

JLA 6 trinity

Today, Patrick and Spencer are discussing Justice League of America 6 originally released July 17th, 2013. This issue is part of the Trinity War crossover event. Click here for our complete Trinity War coverage.

trinity war divPatrick: Did any of you guys ever play Warhammer? If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a table top war game where you assemble an army from your race of choice and battle against your friends’ armies. It’s the least pick-up-and-play game you could ever imagine – understanding the basic rules means reading a 100+ page manual, and keeping a cheat sheet with charts and tables with you at all times. And then there’s understanding your own army, for which you need yet other book completely dedicated to that race. Then you need the little metal figures to represent the members of your army (sold separately), and if you’re really hardcore you can paint them. Then you need a surface large enough to play on – one time my friends and I took a door off its hinges and used that when we were denied the dining room table. Ideally, this surface will be populated with trees and terrain and stuff like that. Setting up the Trinity War has felt an awful lot like setting up a Warhammer game. Everyone’s been reading extra books they don’t really want to read just so they can play in the big game. Now the event is actually here and I can’t believe I’m surprised that all the characters feel like pieces in a game. Continue reading →

Jul 16 2013

Hawkeye 12

Alternating Currents: Hawkeye 12, Drew and Spencer

Today, Drew and Spencer are discussing Hawkeye 12, originally released July 10th, 2013.

Drew: What is it that excites you most about a narrative? Or, what element of a story is so important to you that you might overlook other issues? Obviously, there’s a baseline for quality, but in a pinch, some of us might excuse weak plotting if the character work is good, or flat characters if the story is exciting enough. For me, that magic element is form. I’m willing to excuse wrote plotting or stiff characters as long as the story is told to me in a new way. Hawkeye has never suffered from either of those problems, but its recent discursive plotting and focus on seemingly every character except Clint has the potential to bore plot- and character-philes. Its form, on the other hand, has been absolute crackerjacks. Issue 8 kicked of a series of issues — each from a different perspective — that have revisited scenes time and again, each offering a different perspective on the events. It’s part Roshomon, part A/B plotting, creating a hybrid form that keeps each episode emotionally satisfying, all while weaving an incredibly dense chain of events. Hawkeye 12 adds Barney Barton to the mix, mining a great deal of pathos from the brothers’ childhood. Continue reading →

Jul 15 2013

Young Avengers 7

young avengers 7

Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing Young Avengers 7, originally released July 10th, 2013. 

slim-banner

Spencer: Teenagers are a tricky bunch to write. They speak, think, and communicate in their own unique ways, and it’s glaringly obvious when adults try to imitate these patterns without knowing what they’re doing. Fortunately, Kieron Gillen isn’t a writer who falls into these traps. Gillen has a remarkable knack for writing teenagers, and this is more apparent than ever in Young Avengers 7, where he uses these kids’ relationships (and social networking accounts) to show us how the team has progressed since we last saw them.

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Jul 11 2013

The Superior Spider-Man 13

superior spider-man 13

Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing The Superior Spider-Man 13, originally released July 10th, 2013.

“What we leave behind is something we each determine, through the way we live our lives. Whether we achieve something we can be proud of, or fall short, we have only ourselves to blame.”

—The Superior Spider-Man, Otto Octavius

Spencer: From Ghost-Peter’s laments about how Otto was tarnishing his good name to Otto’s annoyance over his future inventions all being credited to Peter, legacy has been a reoccurring concern in the Superior Spider-Man since its very beginning. After the events of this issue Otto is ready to create a new legacy, free from the influence of Peter Parker, but without Peter’s guidance and memories, can he truly live up to the high moral standards of Spider-Man? Otto said it himself: if he leaves behind a legacy of failure or terror, he’s only got himself to blame.

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Jul 9 2013

The Movement 3

movement 3

Today, Spencer and Scott are discussing The Movement 3, originally released July 3rd, 2013.

Spencer: What responsibility do I have to change the world? Are my actions making the world a better place to live in, or a worse one? Hopefully we’ve all considered these questions at one point or another in our lives—with all the riots and movements in the media now, it’d be hard not to—but if you haven’t, The Movement 3 will probably change that. As its characters grapple with these questions, its hard not to ask them of ourselves as well.

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